Suddenly he asked his father, ” Dad! What does it mean by ‘Governance

System’ ? “

“Its Like…” father said while thinking, “See! I earn and bring money

to home, mean’s I am a ‘Money Holder’. Your mother decides where and how

to spend that money and that means she is ‘Government’. That maid in our

home is doing all the household works, so she will be ‘Labour Class’.

You are a ‘Common man’ or ‘Public’. Your kid brother is ‘Future’ or the

‘Next Generation’, understand?”.

That day Pintu slept with all those thoughts. In the middle of the night

he woke-up because his kid brother was crying. He wetted the matress so

he was crying. Pintu went to wake-up his mother. She was in deep sleep

so Pintu went to the Maid’s room to wake her up. But there his father

was sleeping with the maid. So he came back with frustration.

Next morning father asked Pintu, ” Hey Pintu Darling! You understood the

‘Governance System’? “.

Pintu replied, ” Yeah Dad, I understood! When money Holder is exploiting

Labour Class, our Government is sleeping. Future of our nation is crying

for not getting their basic needs fulfilled and in all this Common Man

is suffering!”

Facts about farts

Interesting facts about Farts

“Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright New Year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”

I wish you & your family members a HAPPY & Prosperous NEW YEAR.

Wish you all good luck in your tasks.

By Adam Khoo |

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked.. He asked, ‘How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?’ My reply was, ‘That’s why I am a millionaire. ‘ He still looked pretty confused. This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book ‘Secrets of Self Made Millionaires’ ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit in first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster. Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky). I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’ s Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worths well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyotas and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers’ and tycoons’ sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family’s wealth(no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation. Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, ‘What is the point in making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?’ The thing is that I don’t really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just gives you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what make ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see by companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries. What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone’s life. What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this BLOG is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life’s work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a meaningless life.

It was our very first valentine’s day and she gifted me with a nice photo frame with a painting made by her in which girl was kissing boy and both were dancing. I gifted her flowers and cards.

It was awesome, mind blowing. It couldn’t have been better and the best thing was that as I left office little early for the day, and it was just the right time to spend some time with my love. The weather was just perfect to spend time with my loved one — a very pleasant cool breeze blew with bit of drizzling and both of us just enjoyed each other’s company. I had always longed to kiss my darling and was just waiting for one opportunity — it couldn’t have been better than this.

It was raining from morning however it was not much in evening and I decided to visit Indian restaurant near by so that we do not have to take taxis or train.

Days are really short in Scotland during winter (sun sets at 4:00 PM and it will be dark at 5:30 PM) and weather was pleasant outside our apartment , drizzling. As we were on our way, it started pouring heavily however we ran fast for 1-2 minutes and reached restaurant easily. As we were finishing our dinner we saw rain drops on the mirror of restaurant. It was very heavy and we waited for some time to get it stop or slowdown so that we can leave for our home which was nearly 15-20 minutes walk from our apartment. Some how rain stopped for a while and we left restaurant, though we were carrying umbrella but only one and it was not enough in that sort of rain and with gutsy winds of 35 kmph.

In just 2 minutes our umbrella was literally flown away and was broken however I tried my best to make it work but not with much success. We started waking holding each other and talking to each others. It was too dark and only we can hear the sound of rain or passing by cars. It was so cold (2-3 degree Celsius) and there was no shelter to stop so we decided to walk in rain like this and enjoy the rain.

When we reached home we were fully wet and water was dripping from our clothes like loose tap. We changed our cloths and directly slipped into our beds as we were feeling cold.

After that I never get chance to get fully drenched in rain as in Bangalore it is really risky to get wet in rain and we always travel in our car or something. However I will always remember my first Valentines day because of my wife lovely gift and time spent walking in rain.

However, my company came up with an idea of offsite meeting at Kabini at Cicada resorts .Its a wonderful resort and the sunset and sunrise are your clocks here and the whistling of the wind or the water flowing by is music. The glory of nature is on full display.

To cut the long story short, I discovered that Kabini Cicada resorts, at the south of Nagarhole National Park, was one of the top 5 wildlife resorts in the world, voted by a prominent British travel guide.

We started at 7.30 AM in morning from our office in two buses and picked team members at various stops till Total Mall on Mysore road. We had all the possible fun during our bus journey.

After driving for almost 2 hours (due to pick ups at various points) and crossing Ramnagram on the way we stopped at Kamath for breakfast. By the team we reached Kamath whole team was hungry as they starved from night for kamanth’s food and in my opinion it’s a must stop point to try out breakfast buffet at Kamath.

After having our breakfast removing all the dullness of getting up early and regaining some energy for the next 4 hour drive we started from Kamath

Driving about 5 hrs from Bangalore, and 1.5 hrs from Mysore, I was pleasantly surprised by the following:
1. The super smooth roads to the resort except for the last few stretches.
2. World class directional signs all throughout the journey, even in the remote wild.
3. The remoteness of the lodge and the genuineness of all claims in the website
4. The amount of wildlife we encountered even on the highway leading to the resort (Can you imagine there is a national highway right through the forest, with no streetlights, and elephant/tiger country on both sides)

When we reached the resort, we found that my cottage was the nearest to the river, and what a place it was! Neither words nor pictures can describe it. We strained to hear a sound other than natural ones. The silence was stunning, so were the views and the pristine surroundings. You will receive Airtel mobile signal but bit week.

A day at the Cicada river lodge includes everything. Yes everything! Bed tea, meals, safaris, entertainment, cruises… What more can you pack in a day?

I won’t go into the details of our schedule, because that would spoil the surprise.

However after finishing our lunch we went to cottage for some rest as we have to assemble in afternoon for Jungle Safari and the other group went for River safari.

Jungle Safari in evening

We saw the following in our safaris:
1. leapard waiting in the trees to pounce upon a herd of deer
2. hundreds of elephants – including a huge bull who decided not to like us and charged
3. crocs lazing on the river banks
4. massive gaur
5. ugly and dangerous wild dog chasing a bull gaur – In the royal years, killing and mounting a wild dog in ones drawing room was the ultimate proof of your hunting skills

6. Bear, deer and monkeys.

Apart from this, the scenery and greenery was breathtaking. The evenings were dreamlike, it drizzled and dawn was like a castle in the sky.

We came back and had some tea coffee. I must say cooks and staff at café are very generous and always ready to help you and provide you with the best of the food (something which are not in menu even).

After that we relaxed a bit and get ready for evening barbeque. We had a nice bonfire in evening and enjoyed dine and wine in natural environment with some barbeque and quality drinks.

Barbeque in Evening

After drinking and eating in barbeque there was hardly any place left for dinner but dinner was so mouthwatering that you cannot resist yourself and to surprise I had enough that evening. Food was outstanding with a combination of veg and non veg dishes. Dessert was quite good too.

After finish food I was not able to walk even till my cottage and took battery operated car to reach my Cottage. Some of the team members stayed there and enjoyed relaxing some enjoyed swimming in night till late. I opted for some nice sleep as all have to get up early morning for River Safari and another batch for Jungle Safari who been to river safari last evening.

River Safari in Morning

I would ask everyone to ensure that even though you would feel extremely lazy and want to just relaxed in Swimming pool , DO NOT MISS ANY OF THEIR ACTIVITIES, including the kayoing .

Relaxing poolside after lunch

The best season is March – May, but early June’s also perfect, as we discovered. However apart from rain one can visit there any time to enjoy nice hospitality in resort and to relax and enjoy nature with family and friends.

We started back late afternoon after having lunch and stopped at Café Coffee day while coming back and reached 10:00 PM to Bangalore (last drop).

Exhausted and tired

It was a nice experience and better than my Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp Journey as one has lot many things to do in Kabini resorts.

We decided to make Chikmagalur our next travel destination. This destination was ideal in all sense as we want to relax and enjoy quality time with family and kids.

Chickmagalur, the name literally means ‘Younger Daughter’s Town’. It is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakrepatna.

Chikmagalur is a calm, serene town full of scenic surprises, hills, valleys, streams and snow-white coffee blossoms. Situated 270 kms from Bangalore, Chikmagalur is a trekker’s delight, with its rugged mountain trails. We did not choose to trek as small kids accompanied us.

We all were ready to enjoy the long drive but thought of hiring Temp traveler so that all 4 families can stay together and have more fun.

Day 1, 10.04.09, we started our journey on Friday in Tempo Traveller at 7.30 AM from my home at Kundalahalli, Bangalore.

We planned to start early to avoid traffic on NH4 and have to pick 3 more families on the way. The route was NH4, Bangalore-Pune highway and at Nelmangala junction take left and go on Bangalore-Mangalore state highway.

Anyway, on the way we picked Sandip, Dinesh and Bharani and around 8:30 AM, we stopped for breakfast at Adigas Banargatta.

After breakfast we actually started our journey. We had decided to see places like Hemavathi dam, Belur and Halivedu temple which are on the way.

We played movie CARS in the vehicle DVD player so that kids can enjoy and have fun.

After Channarayapatna, we stopped at Café Coffe day for a break and had coffee there.

After 15 20 minutes we resumed our journey and approached Hassan. We took a left turn from highway and were heading to see Hemavathi dam but few guys felt that better to go directly to Belur temple as it is too hot outside.

So we decided to go direct to Belur Temple as kids were hugry too byt his time.

We came back to Mangalore highway and passed Hassan. Few kms after Hassan, we took a right turn to join Chikmagalur highway. The drive was excellent but the weather was hot and it was bit humid.

We could see lots of farms where mangoes are grown and the potatoes were in their full bloom.

Soon we approached Belur which is enroute to Chikmagalur.

Belur in Hassan district (222 kms from Bangalore and 38 kms from Hassan) is famous for its magnificent Hoysala Temple Complex. The Chennakeshava temple here was completed in 1116 by Hoysala Vishnuvardhana to commemorate his victory over the Chola. It took 103 years to complete. The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes-with no portion left blank. Elephants, episodes from the epics, sensuous dancers nothing was left uncarved.

For more details you can visit following site www.karnataka.com/tourism/belur. When we reached Belur it was almost 3PM but the temple was still open. However we all were hungry so we decided to have lunch first and later to go to temple. It is really hard to get any good restaurant in Belur however we find one average restaurant who was ready to serve ala-cart menu at that time as well.

It took long to finish our lunch and now kids were energetic and enthusiastic for more drive and fun.

Once we entered the temple we were wonder struck at the beauty we saw.

The carvings so perfect.

perfect carving - u can feel it

Such intricat e carvings are so rare to see especially those of shila balikas.

Darpana Sundari in the picture below Guide there explained that carving of one shila balike would have taken years together as even a minutest detail was to be expressed well in the carvings. They would never compromise on perfection.

Darpana Sundari

Stone Pillar leaning on one side

Above is the stone pillar which is standing without any support. It is leaning on one side and it’s possible to insert a sheet of paper at the base to prove it. Some more photos of Belur temple below After having seen such an magnificent temple so rich in its carvings we headed to Chikmagalur and from there to our resort around 10-15 kms away.

Kids resting in belur temple

However we reached to our resort at 5:30 pm and had a little fight as resort people have given our cottages to some one else. Anyway, we checked in and stretched our legs after a long journey. Most of us had a bath and met again for tea near about 7:00 PM.

Enjoying morning freshness at resort

Day 2, 11.04.09

Today we wanted to visit Kalhathgiri falls, Kemmanagundi hill and Hebbe falls station and some other locations near by (resort gusy gave us the map). We started in morning after breakfast however on the way to kemmanagundi hill we found that we all are exhausted and it is not easy to got to Hebbe falls with kids. However, we had to drop plans of going to Hebbe falls as it needs trekking for 2 Kms with kids it would be very difficult.

on the way to kemmanagundi

view on the way to kemmanagundi

Now, our next stop is Kemmanagundi. 260 Kms from Bangalore is Kemmanagundi, a scenic hill station on the Baba Budan range of hills. Kemmanagundi is also known as K.R. Hills after Wodeyar King, Krishnaraja Wodeyar who had made it his favourite summer camp. Kemmanagundi, at a height of 1,434 meters, is surrounded by thick forests and a salubrious climate the year. It has beautifully laid hills and well maintained ornamental gardens and panoramic view of the mountains.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the drive to Kemmanagundi as the view below with greater height. We could see the very little mist covering the mountains gradually. We reached Kemmanagundi and saw there were so many people and hardly any place to find peace.

We had lunch at Kemmanagundi and Its better to carry food as there are very few options there. There is a guest house maintained by Horticulture department, other than that there are no shops/restaurants on the hill (this is the drawback of having tourist place in Karnataka. You will never get proper food and water)

Anyway, after having lunch what ever was available we started towards one small garden for kids but it was very hot so decided to move directly towards Z point and very small water fall on the way.

walking towards Z point

Kids, ladies and we all were very tired after a 3-4 KM walk under such a hot Sun that unable to walk. After walking for few more meters we found one Tata Sumo parked there and driver was sleeping inside. We negotiated with that guy (he came with family who gone for trekking further up) to drop us till our vehicle is parked and he obliged us at a very nominal price.

We started back towards our resort at 2:30 PM. Kemmanagundi is 10 Kms from Kalhatti falls. The route we took was different by which we went up in morning.

It was not that bad and we took left from the main road to reach Kalhathgiri falls also called Kalhatti falls. The drive to this place was very scenic and we enjoyed the greenery around. We also saw a colorful village fair (some pooja) on the way.

Located 10 kms before Kemmanagundi, at Kalhatti Falls, also known as Kalahasti falls, the water cascades down from a height of 122 metres. All around are fascinating scenic delights.

kalihatti falls

An bird’s eye view of this beautiful place. Notice the falls at the top. There is also a local temple here constructed in a gap between rocks. You will have to wade through the waters from the falls over the rock which looks like an elephant to reach the temple as you can see below.Kids wanted to play in the stream above as we waited here for some time so that kids have a nice time in water without getting wet.

Vehicle stops due to broken belt

The weather was bit cloudy but humid. We started towards our resort at 3:30 in afternoon from falls and around 4:00 PM driver of tempo traveler have stopped the vehicle at a isolated patch because of belt got broken.

doing kar seva and getting fresh water

We tried our best along with driver to resolve the problem but unable to do so. Anyway we decided to stop some vehicle to drop ladies and kids to resort as all of water and snacks is also over by this time.

Luckily one taxi stopped and dropped all the ladies, kids and myself to resort (Dinesh, Sandip, Bharani stayed back with driver).

Anyhow driver did something and brought the vehicle to Chikmagalur and guys found some workshop/mechanic and get the belt right in place.

God was on our side and we took a right decision and get taxi at the right time before pressing the panic button.

Anyway, we reached resort at 8:30 in night and after taking bath we asked all the kids to finish food. Other 3 guys reached resort at 10:00 PM.

Day 3, 12.04.09

Today our plans was to start back for Bangalore as we wanted to visit Helibedu temple and Shravanabealagole on the way but bad dreams of last evening is still following us and driver gave us the bad news that vehicle is still not perfect so I asked him to go to chikmagalur and make it ready and come back by 10:30. He came back at 11:00 AM.

Our resort was full of Mango, cheeku trees so we all picked some for home by the time vehicle came back.

Luckily vehicle came back on time and we started our backwards journey at 11:00 PM. We reached Helibedu temple near about 1:00 PM and amazed to see such a beautiful temple.

helebidu temple

Helebidu temple side view

This temple belongs to the masterpieces of Hoysala architecture. Built in 1121 A.D.Presiding deity lord shiva –Hoysaleswara, though not much damage has been done to the sculptures through ages. Panels of sculptures ,depicting important episodes from great epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha,and images of Hindu gods are carved from the stones which are of surpassing beauty.A visual feast!Observe the ornaments and jewellery,physical features,armoury, beauty of dancing girls etc.

kids having fun and enjoying

I would suggest to visit Helebidu in the morning and Belur in the evening because sculptures are on the outerwalls of the temple at Helebidu while at Belur sculptures are inside the temple which are to be seen with the help of focus light. While daylight will help for photography at Helibedu perfect photography is not possible at Belur because of poor indoor light conditions inside the temple.

Big Nandi at Helebidu

I bought few small metal sculptures of God from this temple and they are very beautiful.

We reached Hassan near about 2:00 and had lunch there and after lunch no one was in a mood to visit Shravanabealagole because it has been told to us that nothing is visible there from ground and you have to climb to see anything.

So we decided better to go back direct to Bangalore and as usual Tumkur road traffic has eaten 2 hours in evening and we reached home by 9:30 in night.

General Information for travellers

1. Accessibility to Chikmagalur
Chikmagalur is 270 kms From Bangalore
From Bangalore by Train
Route : Bangalore- Tumkur – Arasikere – Kadur.

Kadur is the nearest railway station to Chikmagalur.
By Express Train 3 hours running time to Kadur.
From Kadur 45 minutes journey by bus/taxi to Chikmagalur.

If the train is of non-stop at Kadur, then Birur is the next nearest railway station.
From Birur 50 minutes journey by bus/taxi to Chikmagalur.

From Bangalore by Road (Both Private and KSRTC Buses are available)

Buses are available via Bangalore – Hassan – Belur- Chikmagalur (5 hours 30 minutes/ 5 hours)
Buses are available via Bangalore – Arasikere – Kadur – Chikmagalur (5 hours 30 minutes / 5 hours)

2. Places to see around Chikmagalur
- Mulyanagiri – 12 kms
- The Baba Budan Range – 28 kms
- Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary – 30 kms
- Shivagiri Trails – 50 kms
- Kemmanagundi – 54 kms
- Hebbe Falls – 10 Kms from Kemmanagundi
- Kallathigiri Falls – 10 kms from Kemmanagundi
- Kudremukh (Horse Face) – 95 kms

I and my in-laws both wanted to visit Rameshwaram (one of the 4 dhams mentioned in Hindu mythology) from last so many years and this summer we decided to plan and excecute it as well.

You need a very good luck to get the reservation in Tuticorin express and we were lucky enough to got it for 1^st july from Bangalore to Madurai and 4^th from Madurai to Bangalore.

I have taken off from office accordingly and planned the tour. I, my wife Smita, son Kavvy, Bro-in-law, his wife, and my father-in-law and mother-in-law left the Bangalore home in evening as it is not easy to reach Bangalore railway station due to Bangalore traffic problem. Anyway we reached station on time and after having dinner got into our train.

After train journey from Bangalore, we landed in Madurai. We were little dazed from all the traveling, but still anxious to get going. After we checked into the Hotel New Keerthi, we decided to relax and get refreshed for a while.

After having breakfast in hotel itself we got an autorickshaw and were off to see the sights at 11:00 AM.

Our first stop was the main temple, the Sri Meenakshi. It was about a 10-minute ride from the hotel.

Family Grouping at North gate of Madurai Temple

I could see the temple gopurams (entrance towers) from my hotel and in between buildings as we drove. They are tall, steep, pyramid-shaped structures covered with hundreds, maybe thousands, of brightly painted sculptures of Hindu gods. They are the most distinctive features of the south India temples.

We entered Sri Meenakshi through the North Gate. We have taken the guide to show us the whole temple on time as closing time for temple is 12:30 in afternoon. The entrance hallway was a mini-mall lined with stands selling all kinds of religious kitsch: posters and calendars; stickers and statues; amulets and key chains. We left our shoes at one of the shop from where we bought the prasadam and cocunut.

As soon as you entered the temple area from Northern Gate, you will find musical pillars and one tree where people (who do not have kids) tie palnas.

tying the palnas

Farther along the hallway we came to the Golden Lotus Tank, a large pool surrounded by cement steps. Bright sunlight flooded the area and I could see several of the colorful gopurams rising above the temple.

An evening at Madurai Temple near lotus tank

At the far end of the tank was the first of the two main shrines in Sri Meenakshi. It’s only open to Hindus, and we have taken the Rs. 100 ticket to avoid rush and have nice darshan. Meenakshi is of dark green colour (look like black due to lack of light) small idol. Around the corner, down a dark hallway, was the second main shrine of Shiva. I will recommend to visit on weekdays to avoid temple rush and have nice and clear darshnam.

Temple Layout

The temple complex was quite large. Besides the two shrines, the Golden Lotus tank, innumerable smaller shrines and even a museum. On three sides of the complex was a wide, open area where groups of Indians sat relaxing in the shade. The whole thing was surrounded by a tall wall and enclosed an area the size of several football fields. We could see that a single visit would not suffice and we came back to temple again in evening and sat down for a moment to watch the activity at Lotus tank. There was a colonnade around three sides where holy men sat giving consultation to groups of pilgrims. Other pilgrims sat relaxing on the steps and more walked past.

Once you are out of temple you will find battery operated gold cart type cars providing temple round (parikrama).

Kavvy Driving the cart

From there I decided to head back to the hotel. Near the temple we passed various souvenir shops. Farther along there were clothing and auto parts shops. The sidewalks were usually blocked with merchandise or parked vehicles forcing me to walk in the street.

Dodging mud holes, public and speeding autorickshaws we made our way slowly back toward our hotel. It turned out to be father than I thought and I had to stop several times due to traffic jams. It was quite hot and we all decided to have a hour sleep and will go out at 4:00 PM.

My kid was hungry (rather we all were hungry) so I came out to search some paratha, dal and rice for him and in the mean time all other family members were also ready to go out.
we took auto to palace (they told us it will be open till 5:30) and reached there when they have closed the doors as closing time was 5:00.
Anyway, we decided to roam in local market took an autorickshaw back to Sri Meenakshi.

Relaxing at Madurai Temple near lotus tank

father – son relaxing outisde Madurai Temple

We repeated some of the morning’s visits. First, we sat by the tank and afterwards walked around a bit more. Outside we stopped to visit a few of the expensive tourist shops that populate the north side of the temple.

We ended my evening with dinner at the restaurant. It had been a great first day.

Rameshwaram, Friday, July 3

We left at 7:30 for Rameswaram, a temple town on the coast southeast of Madurai. It’s located on an island at the end of a spit of land that sticks out toward Sri Lanka and is one of several important pilgrim destinations in south India.

The morning was cool and the sun low as we pulled out onto a nearly empty road. Our driver was Raj (we hired a Innova). He was quiet and had a quick smile. We had enjoyed his company in starting but later he shows his character

The road was smooth and straight as we passed rice fields, coconut palms, banana trees, stray dogs, and a brick factory belching black smoke. After an hour or so the traffic picked up as the surface of the road deteriorated. The land was flat and covered with lush, green vegetation.

In places the road had been covered with rice stalks. Farmers put them there so that passing cars would crush the grain from the stalks.

Reached Ramnad around 9:30AM and had breakfast.

Then left to Rameshwaram and reached around 10:30AM. Have crossed Pamban Bridge and decided to stop while going back as temple will close and darshan is our primary concern.

Ramanthaswamy temple 1200 pillars

The temple was located in the middle of the small town and had a tall gopuram,which was painted white. It shone brilliantly in the bright sun and was striking against the intensely blue sky.

Then left to the temple and moved inside the temple and arranged a guide who himself arranged a guy to bath in all 22 thirthams. He had asked Rs. 245 per head and taken to all the 22 thirthams inside the temple. It is must to bath in all the 22 thirthams to finish the full cycle visiting this temple.

Walking thru more than 1200 pillars in Rameshwaram temple

You are supposed to pay official charge for taking bath in the 22 wells. But this will not help you. You need to hire some locals from outside to pour water on you from those wells. They charge somewhere from 50rs and above per person for all the wells.

You can see people running behind the guys with the small bucket in lines. He goes to each of the wells, and pours water on you. Since we had a local guide had a wonderful bath after bath. You are not allowed with wet clothes inside temple. But yes, thats only on the notice board. Still some people keep running inside the temple with wet clothes.

You have to visit both Shiva & Thayar (Ammbal) in the temple. We were right on time before the closing of temple for noon.

So, wheres next? We decided to start to Danuskodi but before that we headed to a nice lunch place.

Our driver took us to Gujrat Bhavan for lunch and it was nice light gujrati thali.

Once done with lunch, we headed to Danuskodi.

blue water at Dhanuskodi

The route to Danuskodi was really awesome. The roads are covered with sands, both sides of the roads are full of trees and we could also see the sea on both sides. In some places, a small wall is being constructed to stop water & sand coming to roads. Then changed the wet cloths (Temple have permanent arrangements for this) and visited the temple and the world famous 3rd Corridor in the temple. Then the car moved towards Dhanuskodi which is 17kms away from Rameshwaram and it has a new decent road till

Dhanuskodi naval check post. Frequent busses fly from Rameshwaram to this place.

You will be greeted by those blue & green waves from sea, trying to catch you.

Blue water at Dhanuskodi

After Dhanuskodi we visited one temple on the way back and than our driver took us to show President Kalam’s house and sea shell shop run by his brother.

Kalam’s brother Sea Shell shop

Later we went Ramar Paadham temple. It is actually located on a small hill. More than the scenery I loved the wind over there. You will see the foot prints of Lord Rama in here. People do offer flowers and pooja to that.

sitting in Ramar Padam temple

This is the place where lord Rama stand and departure to Srilanka to kill Ravana to retain Sita I believe. It also gives a very good view of entire Rameswaram, Shiv Temple and sea.

Maa – beta at Panam Bridge

On the way back we have seen Ram, Sita, laksman kund and floating stones and then from there we came back to Pamban Bridge and next to Pamban bridge is where you can visit Coral rocks.

Father in law watching railway track at Panam Bridge

Govt boats are available at Rs 30 per head and they will take you to ½ kms into sea and you can see colorful corals around here. You should go in the noon to have better sight however we were not having enough time so decided not to go there and started back to Madurai.

After a few hours we stopped at a little thatch-covered teashop for tea and back to Madurai by 7:30 PM.

Again went back to same hotel and checked in again (we checked out to cover the 24 hours clause of hotels as our train was at 7:50 PM from Madurai on 4^th July).

Everyone was tired so decided to have the dinner in room itself.
Madurai, Saturday, July 4

Had a nice sleep and had a nice shower on the next day morning. Had a nice and light breakfast of idli, badas and pongal.

My neighbor who is from Madurai told me to visit Azharkovil and murugan temple so we decided to hire auto to visit these places.

AzhagarKovil temple

We hired 2 autos for Rs. 250 each and started at 11:00 AM. This place was nearly 25-30 KM from Madurai main town and has a nice old temple. You cannot make out the temple from outside and you have to keep going in for main idol darshnam. We were on time here also as we came out from the temple before door closing.

There are lots of monkeys there in this temple and one has to very careful as they keep snatching things from your hands. Monkeys snatched Laddu from my kids hand.

We had nice guavas there (6-7 pieces in Rs. 10 – which you will never think of in Bangalore) and started towards Murugan temple.

having fun in AzhagarKovil temple

One has to buy Rs. 10 bus ticket (one sided) to reach Murugan Temple. It is a nice and small upwards hill journey before you reach temple. Lot many people go walking also.

It is a nice experience and we started back to hotel after darshnam and reached hotel by 2:00 PM. We were hungry and had our lunch before checked into the hotel.

watching work at palace

After relaxing for one hour I pushed everyone for Palace visit and it is really a nice experience to see such palace. Being from North India we always have different opinion about palaces and forts but this palace is totally different from north India palaces.

Palace

Due to renovation work we were unable to see the lighting but never mind as it is worth a visit.

We were back to hotel by 5:00 PM from place and boarded the train back to Bangalore at 7:50 PM from Madurai junction.

Rameshwaram – Facts
The holy city of Rameswaram lies about 164 kilometres from the temple city of Madurai.

Here, Sree Rama, the hero of the famous epic the Ramayana, is said to have worshipped Lord Siva to free himself from the sin of having killed Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka (Sri Lanka)

The island of Rameswaram is at the extreme south-eastern end of the Indian Perinsula. This island in the Palk Straits with its tall palms and shining sands, is washed by the waves of the Indian Ocean. Varanasi (Benares) in the north and Rameswaram in the south are considered the holiest cities by the pious Hindus. A Hindu, who visits Varanasi completes his pilgrimage by going to Rameswaram.

Rameswaram Island is said to represent Lord Mahavishnu’s conch. The island was once connected with the mainland by the Isthumus of Pamban. In the fifteen century, a causeway was constructed by Krishnamma Naick. But a severe Storm damaged it. continuous and high sand dunes cannot escape the eyes of tourist. These dunes present a lovely, natural sight along the seashore around Rameswaram.

Mythological Background
Hindu mythology relates the following story about Rameswaram. After killing Ravana, Sree Rama stayed on Mount Gandhamadhanam at Rameswaram. At that time, he wished to remove his sin of having killed several demons by worshipping Lord Siva. He asked his devoted servant, Hanuman to go to the Himalayas and bring a Siva Lingam from Mount Kailas.

The auspicious hour for installing the Linga was nearing, but Hanuman was not to be seen. So Sree Rama put up a Linga made out of sand by his consort Sita and Rama prayed to it. hanuman came late. His Lingam was then placed to the North of Ramalinga. It is called Viswanathar, Kasilingam, and Hanumalingam. The consort of Rameshwar is called Parvatha Vardhani. Much has been written about Rameswaram is Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi and other Literature.

I feel you in twinkling of Stars and find you in moon
I know you must be seeing the moon
Smiling again after seeing moon as moon came on top of my home but you never came